“Now that I’ve returned, I feel that I’ve gained a more thorough appreciation of medicine in another country and firmly believe that my newfound knowledge about barriers to care, effective communication, the importance of preventative medicine, and more will help me better take care of our patients here in Birmingham and beyond.”

“Believing in equitable care is the easy, idealistic part. Witnessing how providers can purposefully and actively implement equity at the level of individual patient interactions despite certain limitations was inspiring.”

“This rotation provided me with a unique opportunity to immerse myself in a different cultural and socioeconomic environment, allowing me to witness firsthand the profound impact of language, culture, and socioeconomic factors on patient communication and health outcomes.”

“I realized throughout the month that the differences in language and culture weren’t necessarily barriers for me to overcome to treat patients as I would in the U.S., but rather ways to learn who a patient was beyond their medical condition in order to best take care of them in their entirety.”

“Overall, my time in the Dominican Republic improved my clinical skills, cultural competence, Spanish-speaking skills, and time management significantly. I feel more confident in my patient care abilities and in learning how to adapt to time and resource constraints in an unfamiliar environment.”

“As it turns out, the language of compassion is universal, and being faced with such difficult situations revealed that I am not yet fluent in it.”

“Not only did I make lifelong friends, get hands-on experience, and see rare patients, but I also improved my Spanish and gained confidence in my skills—something that I know will serve me well in my clinical years and beyond.”

“We were sent into the UNAP with a Butterfly Ultrasound probe and were able to scan lots of pregnant individuals and show them their child for the first time! It was so special to be able to give someone that experience and share that moment with them!”

“I realized the importance of finding common ground so that you can build rapport and trust with a patient. It also reminded me that patients do not always need us to be their healthcare professional. Sometimes they just need us to be a person, an ear in the room willing to listen.”

“My experience in the Dominican Republic will be one I hope to reflect on often. I met some quality Dominican medical students, saw how medicine was conducted in another country and honed my Spanish speaking skills. But, additionally, I learned a valuable lesson about caring for patients: limited resources should never prevent you from giving the patient in front of you your best effort."

“Ultimately, this international experience has strengthened my resolve not only to improve upon the Spanish skills I gained in the Caribbean, but also to utilize these skills to serve similarly disadvantaged groups as a future clinician.” 

“Working in the Dominican Republic this summer not only helped me develop medical and linguistic tools that I will use in future practice, but strengthened my commitment to engaging in international experiences in pursuit of my goal of becoming a culturally competent physician.”

“This clinical rotation made me more passionate about global medicine, but it also made me more passionate about being a physician in my home state of Alabama. Seeing the same issues patients face in our community through a new lens in the Dominican Republic allowed me to understand just how much opportunity there is to make change here at home.”

“Overall, the most important lesson I will take away from this experience is that rural issues in rural D.R. are not unique to the country, but are very similar to the issues that exist in rural areas around the world.”